Arkansas

Arkansas’ rice crop poised for back-to-back years of expansion – Talk Business & Politics

Published

2 years ago

April 29, 2024

Arkansas’ rice crop poised for back-to-back years of expansion – Talk Business & Politics

Arkansas’ rice crop rebounded in terms of acres in 2023, with farmers adding 327,000 more acres than they planted in 2022. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported that the 1.41 million acres harvested in the state last year was roughly half the rice grown in the country.

During the past decade or more, it has been rare for Arkansas rice producers to have back-to-back years where the rice crop expanded. But there’s a good possibility that will happen in 2024, Riceland Foods Vice President of grain sales and procurement Grayson Daniels told Talk Business & Politics.

“The weather has to cooperate. That’s the first thing,” he said. “It definitely looks like we will have a bigger crop this summer if the weather holds.”

The USDA forecasted that growers produced 107 million hundredweight of rice last year, a 33% increase when compared to the 80.3 million hundredweight produced in 2022. The rice yield for 2023 was forecasted at 7,550 pounds per acre, up 140 pounds from the previous year.

Milled rice exports were up 18% last year and total rice exports that include milled and rough rice were up 12%, Daniels said. Early estimates are that export numbers will be as good or exceed those numbers this year, he said.

There are several positive and negative factors that will have an impact on prices and production this year. The El Nino weather pattern has wreaked havoc in several parts of the world, causing potential problems for rice growers in other countries and to this point it has had very little impact in Arkansas, he said. India placed a moratorium on exporting its domestic rice crop, which means there’s less competition for U.S. growers in export markets.

The U.S. export market has remained strong during the last year, and that could continue through 2024, he said. Another positive indicator for the country’s rice market is that worldwide stocks from companies that are involved in the rice industry finished lower in 2023.

There are other reasons to think the rice market might be bearish this year, too, he said. Larger crops could lower yields and create more supplies, he said. The U.S. dollar has been strong and historically that hasn’t always been good for agriculture commodities. At some point during the next year, it’s likely that India will lift its export ban. And weather can always have an impact at any given time, Daniels said.

Another potential impact could come from the state’s most widely grown crop, soybeans. Since 2022, U.S. soybean production has been down by about 3% overall, Daniels said. This year there could be an increase in production, and if that’s the case in Arkansas, some farmers may choose to dedicate more acres to that crop, he said.

There are several reasons to think soybean production will be up this year, he said. First, the country’s production has been down the last several years so at some point a rebound is likely. Second, the weather has been bad in Brazil during its growing season. Brazil is the top soybean grower in the world, producing 160 million metric tons during its last growing season, according to the USDA. That accounted for 43% of all global production while the U.S. finished second at 31%.

There are a few reasons, however, why the U.S. soybean market might be down, Daniels said. First, an increase in domestic supplies could drive prices down. Second, the largest importer of soybeans in the world, China, prefers South American soybeans. Third, world stock markets could rise and that might have a negative impact on domestic soybean prices.

Despite all the potential machinations with agriculture commodities markets, Hunter Biram, extension economist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said rice is one of the least risky crops for farmers to grow in terms of production. According to metrics he developed, soybeans are four times riskier to grow than rice from a production standpoint. Corn and cotton are both twice as risky to produce.

“Rice has the lowest yield risk of any crop,” he said.

Rice is the most consumed food in the world. Roughly half the world’s population eats rice on a regular basis. Last year more than 540 million metric tons of rice was consumed, according to the USDA. About 4.6 million metric tons was consumed in the U.S. and most of that rice came from domestic sources.

The crop is mainly grown in the Mississippi Delta region, and most of the rice grown there is of the long-grain variety. Medium and short grain varieties are grown in California.

Rice has been grown in the South since it was first brought to South Carolina in the 1600s. Rice was grown in small amounts in Arkansas as early as the 1840s, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Mass production of the crop started after 1902 when Lonoke County farmer William Fuller sparked interest in the crop after he set up an experimental farm in Carlisle.

The crop is grown in 40 of the state’s 75 counties. The vast majority is produced in Arkansas’ Delta Region in eastern and southern parts of the state.

Source link

Arkansas

Arkansas driver’s licenses and state IDs now available in Apple Wallet

Published

10 hours ago

June 3, 2026

Press Room

Arkansas driver’s licenses and state IDs now available in Apple Wallet

Arkansans can now present their driver’s licenses and state identification cards on mobile devices using Apple Wallet, state finance officials announced Wednesday.

The Department of Finance and Administration said Arkansans can use Apple Wallet to present their license or ID in person, online and in apps at select organizations, including at more than 250 Transportation Security

Source link

Arkansas

Your Arkansas Driver’s License Can Now Live on Your iPhone

Published

20 hours ago

June 2, 2026

Press Room

Your Arkansas Driver’s License Can Now Live on Your iPhone

IDEMIA Public Security North America and the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration’s Division of Driver Services and Motor Vehicles have launched Arkansas driver’s licenses and state IDs in Apple Wallet, allowing residents to securely store and use their credentials on an iPhone or Apple Watch.

The new feature gives Arkansans the ability to present their identification at participating businesses and venues, at Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints in more than 250 airports, and online or within apps when age or identity verification is required.

The launch builds on Arkansas’ ongoing efforts to expand digital identification options. In March 2025, the state introduced the Arkansas Mobile ID app, and officials say adding IDs to Apple Wallet offers residents another secure and convenient way to access their credentials.

“We’re proud to build on our partnership with the Arkansas DFA’s Division of Driver Services and Motor Vehicles, expanding on the launch of the Arkansas Mobile ID app in March 2025. The launch of ID in Apple Wallet in the state provides Arkansas residents a new, secure way to store and present their digital credentials, with transparency and control over how their information is shared at the forefront,” said Rob Gardner, CEO, IDEMIA Civil Identity.

To add an Arkansas driver’s license or state ID to Apple Wallet, users can tap the plus sign at the top of the Wallet app on their iPhone, select “Driver’s License or State ID,” and follow the verification process.

Officials say privacy and security were central considerations in the rollout. Information stored in Apple Wallet is encrypted on a user’s device, and users control when and how their information is shared. When presenting an ID, only the information necessary to verify age or identity is provided.

Apple and the Arkansas Division of Driver Services and Motor Vehicles also do not receive information about when or where residents use their digital IDs.

The technology is also designed to make verification easier for businesses. Participating businesses can use IDEMIA’s Mobile ID Verify app to accept and verify mobile IDs directly from an iPhone without requiring customers to hand over their devices or use additional hardware.

The launch marks another step toward broader adoption of digital credentials in Arkansas, giving residents a secure alternative to carrying a physical driver’s license or state ID while maintaining control over their personal information.

For information on the launch of IDs in Apple Wallet in Arkansas, click here.

READ ALSO: Adam O’Neal Stepping into Chancellor Role at UA-EACC

Source link

Arkansas

Arkansas gymnatics coach Chris Brooks completes staff with hiring of Zan Jones | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Published

1 day ago

June 2, 2026

Press Room

Arkansas gymnatics coach Chris Brooks completes staff with hiring of Zan Jones | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

New Arkansas gymnastics coach Chris Brooks announced Monday the hiring of Zan Jones to complete his first staff, as well as the promotion of assistants Kyla Ross and Catelyn Branson.

Brooks succeeded his wife, Jordyn Wieber, on April 28 after Wieber stepped down.

Jones joins the Razorback after two seasons as an assistant coach at Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas. The Pioneers won back-to-back Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics National Invitational Championship titles in 2025 and 2026 with Jones on staff. He has been named a Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association Division II assistant coach of the year three times, including this spring.

Jones also earned Midwest Independent Conference assistant coach of the year in both of his seasons at Texas Woman’s.

Jones served as the Pioneers’ primary vault and uneven bars coach, and the team set a program record of 49.35 on the bars in March.

An Alabama alumnus, Jones served as a student manager for the Crimson Tide gymnastics team. He served a year at Talladega (Ala.) College in its inaugural season of gymnastics and spent time as a recreational and team coach at Trussville (Ala.) Academy of Gymnastics.

Brooks also promoted both Ross and Branson to the title of associate head coach. Ross, a former UCLA gymnast and Olympic gold medalist as part of Team USA in 2012, started at Arkansas as a volunteer assistant in 2022. Ross helped Arkansas produce program records on the balance beam in back-to-back years before taking over the vault squad, which set a program high 49.675 in 2026.

The Razorbacks ranked as high as No. 2 on the vault last season and were never lower than No. 7. Senior transfer Morgan Price landed the first 10 in school history on the vault in February.

Branson returned to the Arkansas staff ahead of the 2025 season, helping lead the floor squad. In that time, Branson has led the Gymbacks to two of their top five best floor scores ever and Arkansas has been ranked as high as No. 2 in the country on floor in the last two seasons. In 2026, over 60% of the team’s scores on floor were 9.85 or better.

Branson served as Lindenwood’s head coach from 2022-24, where she was named 2024 Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association South Central Region Coach of the Year and the Midwest Independent Conference Coach of the Year. She led the Lions to their second consecutive and fifth overall USAG national championship and seventh MIC title in 2024.

Branson had a prior stint at Arkansas from 2020 to 2022, in which time the Gymbacks ranked as high as third on beam and second on floor.

Tom Murphy

tmurphy@wholehogsports.com

Tom Murphy is a sports reporter for WholeHogSports. A graduate of Louisiana Tech University, he is a member of the Football Writers Association of America and voter for the Heisman Trophy and AP Top 25 football poll. He was voted the 2017 Arkansas Sportswriter of the Year.

Source link